Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton. Hampton Normal and Industrial School: Agencies Promoting Assimilation of the Negro: Training for Commercial and Industrial Employment. Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va. 1899 - 1900

Editor: This photograph by Frances Benjamin Johnston, titled "Races, Negroes: United States. Virginia. Hampton..." shows two women engaged in lacemaking and basket weaving. The contrasting images feel staged, almost like a before-and-after scenario. What underlying message do you think the photograph conveys? Curator: This staged quality is significant. Notice how these crafts, though seemingly domestic, symbolize a complicated narrative of cultural assimilation. The tools and techniques, while appearing benign, represent an attempt to reconcile identity with the demands of a changing society. Do you see the tension in that? Editor: I do now. It’s like these women are caught between tradition and progress, their identities woven into the very fabric of these crafts. Thanks for pointing that out. Curator: Indeed. This image, therefore, serves as a potent reminder of the layers of meaning embedded in the seemingly mundane objects of our past.